Pea, mint and lemon soup

A bowl full of the hope of Spring

Following the 5:2 diet as I am, I’m eating a lot of soup for my lunch on fast days. Home made definitely tastes better as you can get lots of flavour packed in, but keep an eye on the calorie content at the same time.

This week’s effort is a wonderfully cheap soup to make. I think most of us have a bag of frozen peas, onion, garlic and a stock cube knocking about. If you grow your own herbs even better! I added the zest of a lemon just to perk it up and launch it into the realms of Spring – I am SO over winter!

I’ve had enough of hats, scarves and odd gloves, grey skies and biting wind, runny noses and not being able to play outdoors for longer than 30 minutes. Bring on the daffodils, blossom and birds singing…

Pea, mint and lemon soup
Makes 4 small bowlfuls of 135 calories per serving

1 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
500g frozen peas/petit pois
600ml vegetable stock
1 large handful mint leaves, chopped
1 lemon, zest only

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pan, then soften the onions over a medium heat with the lid on for around 5 minutes, stirring occastionally to make sure they’re not catching. Add the crushed garlic and cook for a further minute.

2. Pour the peas into the pan and give it all a good stir, then add the vegetable stock and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add the chopped mint leaves and lemon zest, giving a good stir and then leave the lid on for around 10 minutes to let the flavours infuse. Allow to cool a little and then blitz with a blender until smooth.

Tips: If you’re not on a diet or want to serve this as a starter or lunch for friends then you could serve with a swirl of creme fraiche and some crispy bacon croutons…

As this is so deliciously frugal i’m entering it into Credit Crunch Munch, an event hosted this month by Fuss Free Flavours but run jointly with Fab Food 4 All – check it out if you’re looking for inspiration that won’t cost a packet.